3080 Hydro Copper/3090 Ti FE /4080 (New to Cooling)

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Hey all, I am planning to build a new machine with my first custom cooling loop for my son as an xmas gift. Being new to cooling I have many questions, the first being which GPU to buy.

I can get my hands on an EVGA 3080 Hydro Copper FTW (the 12 GB version), a 3090 Ti FE, or a 4080 FE. For the latter two I would add an EK Quantum Vector water block. Because the EK water block for the 3090 ti is about $100 more than the water block for the 4080 those two options are identical in price. Both of the FE options with EK water blocks are about $150 cheaper than the 3080 hydro copper.

Being new to cooling I'd love some opinions on tackling a water block install on my first try vs getting the ready to go Hydro Copper and which GPU you'd go with. It's hard to pass up the performance of the 3090 ti or 4080, especially when it is cheaper all in, but tearing a FE card apart to get there has me a little hesitant.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Watch teardown videos for your specific gpu as well as install videos for the waterblock you buy. Take it slow and avoid using force. Make sure to leak test before pluggigg in power to the rest of the system. You can jump the pins on your psu to allow you to run power to the pump without plugging the psu into the rest of your system. Watch videos about this topic if you dont know how.
 
Make sure you use proper size screw driver bit. It is very easy to strip the heads on them. I got a EVGA 3080 from RMA and most the screw heads were massacred. Some were a real bitch to get out. I would personally avoid a FE. They seem to be a bitch to take apart.
 
motqalden said:
Watch teardown videos for your specific gpu as well as install videos for the waterblock you buy. Take it slow and avoid using force. Make sure to leak test before pluggigg in power to the rest of the system. You can jump the pins on your psu to allow you to run power to the pump without plugging the psu into the rest of your system. Watch videos about this topic if you dont know how.
Click to expand...

I have watched a ton of videos on building the loop. I feel pretty good about that. Also saw a video on taking an FE card apart. It seems doable, and I guess it will have to be since the 3080 Hydro is gone now.

Anyone have thoughts on the 4080 and 3090 ti - given they are the same price?
 
vegeta535 said:
Make sure you use proper size screw driver bit. It is very easy to strip the heads on them. I got a EVGA 3080 from RMA and most the screw heads were massacred. Some were a real bitch to get out. I would personally avoid a FE. They seem to be a bitch to take apart.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Unfortunately, the FE's are the only available models that (1) are at the price point I want to hit and (2) have compatible water blocks.
 
I've taken apart many FE's and they are not bad. Plenty of videos too. Only somewhat tricky part of the disconnecting the ribbon cables.
 
3090Ti only makes sense at this point if you can get it for at least a couple hundo cheaper than a 4080, or if the use case calls for extreme VRAM quantity/bandwidth (probably not the case unless your son is going all out with texture mods at high-rez). If the 4080 option ends up being the same cost as the 3090Ti, get the 4080, it's unquestionably faster and will use less power.

The 3000 and 4000 Founders cards go together a little different than AiB models but they seem pretty easy and straightforward to work on. It was the 2000 series that got FE a reputation for being a pain in the ass, those were... uniquely... constructed.
 
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